Independence man pleads guilty to conspiracy

An Independence man pleaded guilty Friday to taking part in a conspiracy stretching nearly two decades to defraud some of the nation's largest food manufacturers, including Tropicana and Con Agra Frozen Foods.

Terry Lee Esteb, 62, of Independence, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, U.S. Attorney for Kansas Eric Melgren said in a release. Esteb entered the plea during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia in Kansas City, Kan.

In his plea, Esteb said he had worked as a sales representative for Advantage Sales and Marketing of Overland Park during the time the conspiracy took place from 1983 to April 5, 2002. The company was a food brokerage business that obtained goods from food manufacturers to supply to individual grocery stores.

Esteb said he had conspired with Gerald Brown, 42, of Lee's Summit; Augustine Salinas, 37, of Gladstone; James Jirik, 39, of Bonner Springs; and Ronald Forrest, 49, of Independence.

The amount of loss attributable to the conspiracy was $334,364, according to the plea agreement.

The conspirators used the U.S. mail to submit false paperwork to food manufacturers seeking payment for lost or damaged merchandise, Melgren said. The fraudulent claims stated that the money was owed to Ball Food Stores, which is based in Kansas City, Kan. When the food manufacturers issued checks and mailed them to Ball Food Stores, the defendants intercepted the payments, Melgren said.

The conspirators also removed grocery items from Price Chopper and Hen House grocery stores in the Kansas City area for their own use or to sell to smaller grocers. They would issue store credits to store managers for items they removed and then submit a request to the food manufacturers for checks to cover the cost of the items. When the conspirators sold the items to smaller grocers, they pocketed the cash, Melgren said.

Esteb is set for sentencing for Nov. 22. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine of as much as $250,000. Among the other defendants:

Salinas pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Sentencing is set for Oct. 2.